I encourage all authors who are developing a website to have a newsletter sign-up area where they can start collecting names and email addresses. This list can be invaluable, because it’s comprised of people who have already expressed interest in your writing and want to hear from you. You couldn’t BUY a list like this. […]
The 3 Most Common Reasons Why People Are NOT Signing Up for Your Newsletter Read More »
We continue our series on successful author websites by featuring Allie Phillips, author and animal rights advocate. Her website, www.AlliePhillips.com, aims to teach people how they can make a difference in the lives of animals (and sell her book, of course!). It gets close to 1,000 hits each month. So how did she do it?
Author Success Story: Allie Phillips Read More »
I was reading an issue of Internet and Marketing Report recently. There were two separate articles I came across that were seemingly unrelated. And yet, I think they’re VERY related … and relevant to author websites. The first article talks about one of the most common mistakes that people make when designing a website: having
Authors: Tell Your Visitors What to Do … and Why! Read More »
By some strange coincidence, I had three different clients (ones whose websites were built and launched in 2010) contact me this week asking if I had any recommendations for how we could improve their search engine placement (i.e. get them to show up near the top of Google search results for the subject matter of
Authors: The Secrets to Improving Your Search Engine Placement Read More »
This past Saturday, I had the privilege of speaking at the ASJA conference. The workshop I was a presenter in was, of course, about author websites. One of the questions that came up during one of my colleague’s presentations had to do with the use of mobile phones for searching the net. A poll was
Should You Build Your Author Website for a Mobile Device? Read More »
In the second post of this series (click here to see the first), we’re featuring Patrick Maguire, MD, the author of “When Cancer Hits Home.” His book was released and his website launched in December. Since then, he has been getting rave book reviews, good site traffic (at least 500 visitors each month), and lots
Author Success Story: Patrick Maguire, MD Read More »
You guys are writers! You’re creative with words! Maybe it’s time to break out of the mold when it comes to link text on your website. If you browse 50 author websites, you’ll probably find the words “Click here” … “Read more” and “Buy Now” appearing hundreds of times. Because it’s easy. It’s clear. It’s
Authors: Think Beyond ‘Read More’ and ‘Click Here’ Read More »
It has been an interesting topic of conversation over the last few weeks: “The End of Social Media?” And while that’s a little dramatic (and we aren’t about to say that authors should stop using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — that’s practically career suicide nowadays!), it may be time to start thinking about what you’re
Is Social Media on the Decline? Read More »
There are many things that we hear that people want on an author website: a bio, photos, a list of books, etc… But every author is different, and every group of readers is different. Someone who visits the website of an author who writes about campaign finance reform probably is looking for something different than
What Do Your Readers Want on Your Website? Find Out! Read More »
I read an article a few days ago about the evolution of book clubs. Basically, it talked about: how book clubs are one of the keys to books’ popularity how book club members have started reaching out to authors about coming to speak in person at their meetings how even libraries are getting involved in
5 Ways Authors Can Make Use of Book Clubs Read More »
